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WWE Raw Reax #2: "This was one of the most enjoyable Raws I've seen in a long time." Jun 30, 2008 - 11:32:10 PM
Matt Hoover of Pittsburgh, Pa. (7.5): Best Match: Punk vs. JBL. Worst Match: Mickie James vs. Jillian. Wow! Just when you thought the power had shifted to Smackdown! and that WWE Creative was wit's end again with the Mr. McMahon "injury" storyline, we witness the rebirth of Monday Night Raw. The new era begins with a J.R. sendoff, Edge dropping the title to C.M. Punk (!), and a show dripping with young, exciting talent. Ted DiBiase will be World Heavyweight Champion in 12 months. Ditto with Cody Rhodes and the Intercontinental Title. Kofi Kingston is seriously legit and it'll be interesting to see if he can carry the championship on the mic. Michael Cole wasn't half as bad as I thought he would be and even Jamie Noble was slightly entertaining. Whatever the logic, the recipe tonight was fantastic: push new stars who are ready to pushed, keep the veterans looking strong, and limit overexposure to tired acts (John Cena). Points are lost for Jillian getting a match and for the show being a really "talky," but I will surely be tuning in next Monday night for the next chapter. The future is now and it looks extremely promising. Oh, and again, C.M. Punk is the World Heavyweight Champion!
Aaron Randall of Arizona (8.0): Best Match: The Whole Show. Worst Match: None. I hope Raw keeps up these good shows. I never expected C.M. Punk to win the title so early after winning the MITB especially since he was jobbing to the higher-tier wrestlers. I like TNA, but I don't think they would have the balls to do something like that on free TV the way WWE did. Also, I do like the potential Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase have at becoming a great heel tag team. And what a great way to interject Cryme Tyme into the possible Cena-JBL-Punk feud. I'm actually looking forward to next week.
Bonnie Svitavsky of Puyallup, Wash. - Librarian (8.5): Best Match: Jericho-Kofi. Worst Match: none. I thought this show was totally about resetting Raw and setting up storylines and characters. I'm really excited about where they could go with these storylines - and how weird is it that two guys who were on ECW last week are now holding the singles belts on Raw this week? I really think that Cody's line about being good enough to not have to pay dues (or something like that) said a lot about the approach I hope they're taking post-draft with Raw. I like seeing them let guys like Kofi, DiBiase, and Rhodes get out there to speak and have great matches. I'm also ecstatic to see Punk get the title and retain it. Yeah, the minute JBL walked on screen, I was worried that they were going to undo it. Yay that they didn't. This was one of the most enjoyable Raws I've seen in a long time. Improvements - wrestling! There were so few matches and so much talking (thus no worst match). And I could have done without all the recaps of the draft, PPV, and even earlier in the show. But that's par for the course.
We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "Raw Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on Raw, click here.
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